AkiraReborn
by Scorpion29
Summary: It's years after the movie and Masago, Kaneda and Kei's granddaughter meets up with the reborn Akira through the gang she's in...OC's
1. Prologue

This is the reposted prologue because Tallulah, Grammar Songstress very kindly agreed to read over my chapters and inform me of what needed to be changed, THANK YOU! I hope you all think thisprologue is better than the first one cause I think it is!

Thank you to my reviewers! I'll post in a later chapter so you can read what I want to say to you!

Standard Disclaimers Apply

Prologue

Outside a recently burned building, a whole family lay slaughtered their bodies grotesquely mutilated almost beyond recognition. Only one remained alive, a young girl of about eight. She was hidden beneath an old dilapidated car her black hair pooling around her. Slowly she opened her deep dark eyes before she began to cough violently, bringing up phlegm and blood, causing her frame spasm in a dance of agony. After recovering from her attack, she wearily crawled out from under the car, blood oozing from multiple scraps and cuts. Then lifting her head she cried out at the sight that lay before her; all of her family dead at her feet, with the only place she had ever called home burnt to the ground.

"Mommy!" she hoarsely called, stumbling over to the first corpse. "Mommy! Wake up!" Grabbing her mother's arm, she shook her as hard as she could, trying to revive her. "Why won't you get up? Mommy! Daddy! Where are you Daddy! Make Mommy get up!" The little girl crawled over to her father and recoiled at his misshapen figure that she barely recognized falling backwards onto another one of her family. "Grandpa!" She spun around to find her elderly grandfather in the same condition as her parents; his sightless black eyes so similar to hers were staring straight ahead, never again to laugh at her. Grief was starting to set in, and she covered her mouth with her hands as tears filled her eyes, clouding her vision as they threatened to spill over.

"Chiyo!" She searched until she found her idolized big sister lying in a pool of her own blood her glassy blue eyes widened in pain and fear, their youngest brother clutched in her arms. "Why did they do this neesan? Why?" She turned away, half hoping that if she did that it wouldn't be true, and Chiyo would ask her to take Goro from her because he was getting heavy; but instead she spotted her elder brother and sister. "Kami! Manzo!" Reaching out she touched the face of her dark haired brother, quickly withdrawing when she felt no warmth in his pale skin.

Then the dam broke, and a torrent of tears streamed down her elfin face, streaking through the dirt and grime that coated it, splashing down onto the hands fisted in her skirt. Her small body was wracked with sobs as she let go of her skirt to instead grip at her arms in some semblance of a hug, crying out hoarsely for her parents, anyone.

Deep within her, something stirred and awoke, surrounding her with warmth and light, taking away the pain and the sorrow. It sunk into every pore of her being and soothed her as it took over, an age-old protection mechanism she had inherited from her grandmother's side of the family. As the sun set, she lifted her face to the sky, her eyes seeming to glow with an unearthly light, and she vowed within her heart that she would get the people who had done this, no matter what. Staggering to her feet she stumbled away from her past into a bleak looking future.

Five Years Later

Running. Running. Her bare feet slapped against the sidewalk. Clutching the stolen food tucked under her shirt, she skidded around a corner; adrenaline and panic keeping her from noticing the layer or tow of skin she lost in the process. Breathing hard, she tripped over an uneven chunk of cement and slammed hard onto the ground, but almost immediately she was scrambling back up to her feet and off again. Going around another corner, she crashed into someone, and fell backwards onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her tiny frame.

"What the hell?" The young male crouched down next to her and grabbed her by the front of her shirt, hauling her up so as either to land a blow or give a threat, but her pursuers rounded the corner, grabbing his attention.

"There she is!" the leader who was the shopkeeper, bellowed charging toward them. The girl started to struggle to get free with what little strength she still possessed. "Don't let her go! She's a dirty thief!"

"Takeo, hold her." The guy handed the black haired waif off to his buddy, and turned to the little group in front of him. "Don't you have anything better to do with your time than chase a half dead child around the streets for a piece of bread she's stolen?" he demanded taking a step closer to them, danger lighting up his eyes. "Now fuck off."

The shopkeeper opened his mouth to say something, but one of his followers grabbed him by the sleeve and hissed something to him. The man's eyes narrowed in anger before he spun on his heel and stomped away, grumbling under his breath about damn gangs and how they always got in his way. When the man was out of sight the gang turned their attention to the thief.

"What's your name?" the one holding her, Takeo, asked, letting go of her and allowing her to have some space. She tightened her grip on whatever she had stolen and looked around, her pitch black eyes taking in everything around her as she silently tallied up how many gang members there were.

"Maybe she's stupid?" another one speculated, and her head snapped to the side to find the speaker.

"I don't think so," the one who had saved her said. "My name is Yuki, what is yours?"

"Why do you want to know?" She questioned, her eyes darting around, suspiciously looking at the others as if she expected them to jump her at any moment.

"So we can take you to your parents," Yuki said gently.

"I'm not a child so don't treat me like one," she snapped. "My parents are dead and it will be over _my_ dead body that I return to that orphanage." Her eyes flared at him as she squared her shoulders, preparing for a fight.

"How old are you?" Takeo demanded.

"They estimate me to be about thirteen years old," she revealed reluctantly, still searching for a way out.

"Don't you have a thirteen year old sister, Raiden?" Yuki turned to the blond guy to his left.

"Yeah, Uta why?" Raiden questioned.

"Do you think she would like a friend?"

* * *

BOOM! I am done with the prologue! Who is sooooo cool? Thanks Tallulah! 


	2. Sago Kicks Butt

Another reposted chapter! THANK YOU TALLULAH!(sorry, I know you hate more than one exclamation point!) Well here is my beautifully updated chapter thanks to Tallulah!

Standard Disclaimers Apply

Chapter 1

5 years later

(Masago)

"Sago! They're headed our way!" Katashi bellowed, skidding into the bar and nearly slamming into one of the waitresses before screeching to a hlat, his pink robes flying out behind him.

"I know," I said sighing out the statement so as to not so subtly, show my irritation, as I stood up and downed the rest of my drink.

"Well then hurry up!" Katashi edged around the woman who was sweeping the floor, his beady black eyes darting everywhere as he toyed with the hunk of salt he wore around his neck like a talisman. Rolling my eyes, I followed him, snagging my worn jean jacket on the way out, flipping the bartender a coin. Coming out into the alley, I caught sight of my baby and grinned. She always made me happy. I had rescued her from a junkyard; she was a black and blue Harley Davidson I had spent hundreds of hours on. Next to her sat Katashi on his bike, waiting for me, his grey tiger cat visible in its little cubbyhole on the back of the bike.

"I see Ping is feeling better," I commented mounting up onto my black and blue motorcycle pulling on my gloves and old beaten up helmet.

"Yeah, but the vet had to take off most of his tail." Katashi informed me. We started our engines and sped off into the night to meet up with Yuki and the rest of the gang to pulverize our rivals The Samurai. Our two gangs were equal in power and we were both trying to expand our turf.

"Last I heard from them they were headed toward the east border of our territory, but I'm not sure which part!" Katashi yelled to me as we zoomed off toward the location where Yuki and the gang had last been. Narrowing my eyes I divided my attention between driving and finding Yuki. Biting down on my lip, I reached out along the connective thread I had made with him and slipped into his mind.

_We're going to get those shits this time!_ Yuki's thoughts became my own for a moment while I picked out his location from his mind, snapping back to full awareness just in time to pull into the correct traffic lane.

After my family had died I had found myself swamped with visions of the future and people's thoughts and emotions along with other mental abilities. It had been overwhelming; for about a year or two I had been a recluse, not going near anyone for fear of seeing their demise or hearing every single thought running through their minds. Slowly I learned to tune people's thought and emotions out enough that I could function without getting horrible migraines. Eventually, right before I met the gang, I taught myself how to control most of my clairvoyant powers. It hadn't been easy, and still when I find myself under a lot of pressure I sometimes revert back to square one. Most people when they find out about my special talents believe me insane; Katashi is one of the only ones who doesn't find me insane. The reason Katashi listens to me and doesn't think I am off my rocker is because he claims aliens abducted him with his cat; he never told me what exactly happened but it seems like it was rather traumatic. It drove him to dye the top of his hair like a rainbow and his tiny ponytail blue; in an attempt to look like the alien scum, he once told me.

"They're near the factory district on highway 95B," I shouted over to my partner as I hit my turn signal, and whipped around the corner and onto the ramp that would lead us to them. Glancing at him driving next to me, I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head, he drove the weirdest looking set of wheels I had ever seen. If you were to look at it, it would look like a thin rectangle in between two wheels; the right side of the rectangle was carved out, the left side smooth and intact. This was due to the fact that because he wore robes, he couldn't ride normally with one leg on each side, so in order to be able to ride he had remodeled his bike. He sat with both legs on one side (the right) with his feet in little holes that had one just a small distance higher than the other, his seat was slightly reclined and cushioned so his weight didn't fall directly on his tail bone. On the flat left side he had painted a beautiful silver wolf with his head thrown back howling; the panel it was painted on covered a compartment that he kept stuff in. The handlebars, were another thing completely, there was one for his right hand and that was for steering and braking while there was nothing for his left, on the flat part of his bike, on his left were all the other controls including the ignition. Behind him there was a round padded basin that was where Ping sat with his little goggles on to protect his eyes. Next to Ping, sticking straight up was Katashi's weapon of choice; a stick with a brick cemented on the end. He called it his Alien Hammer; he told me that when the aliens came back, this is what he'd smack 'em with.

Accelerating, I continued straight ahead, bringing myself into seeing distance of the rest of the gang, who were already giving chase to a few Samurai. Their taillights glowed in the darkness, red beacons guiding us to where we were supposed to go. Katashi and I were still some distance away and not in the thick of it. Quickly I picked out the guys from our gang, all had silver wolves on the back of their jackets and had painted the letters and numbers on their license plates blood red. At the front I picked out Yuki and his head honchos, Takeo and Raiden, riding in the shape of an arrow, a tactic that almost always worked. The other bikers were forming a line behind them.

Sensing a disturbance (in the Force), I glanced into my side view mirrors and started cursing. The rest of the Samurai were _behind_ us! How could I have not noticed? Reaching down I grabbed the hard wooden pole I kept with me, while keeping my eyes on the road ahead of me. Looking into my mirror again I picked out the leader, and moved my bike into the right position, fixed my grip on my stick and hit my brakes throwing my arm holding my stick out at a right angle to my body. The whole maneuver was a thing of beauty, perfectly timed for the best results; the wooden bar slammed into him, right across his chest, ripping him completely off his bike so he hit the pavement hard and his bike crashed into the second in command. Letting loose a war cry, I attacked the one who had been creeping up on Katashi, landing a solid blow to his shoulder, dismounting him as well before moving onto the next one. Katashi had realized what was going on behind him, and had alerted the gang ahead of us and joined in the ruckus.

(time elapse)

"That was sweet! Good job out there Sago!" Yuki slapped me on the back as we reclined at a table with the rest of the gang over a round of beer and other assorted drinks. His amber eyes were aglow from the last skirmish, his shoulder length silver hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. As I looked at him I remembered the first time I had ever seen him; I had been petrified, because he had lifted me clear off my feet, and scowled, his amber eyes hard and flat. Next to him sat Takeo his black hair in a crew cut that Uta, Raiden's sister had given him; he was the deep thinker of the group and his pale green eyes were the most piercing, he could sense a lie five miles away. Raiden, the youngest of the trio was the most humorous a joke or smart-ass comment always resting on the tip of his tongue, ready to be used at any time. He had golden blond hair and light grey eyes; nothing ever seemed to get him down although he could be serious when needed.

It was these three who had bonded together to help provide for me and make sure I made it through instead of just hauling me back to the orphanage. They had become my family, along with Uta; the people I went to when I was in trouble or sad, the ones who could make me smile and realize that there was a purpose to living in this world. When I had come to them and told them that I wanted to join the gang, they hadn't laughed or talked down at me, but instead told me that I would have to go through the ceremony, and just because I was their "little sister" didn't mean they were going to go easy on me. They never treated me any different than the rest of the gang except for the fact that they made me wear a helmet instead of just goggles.

"Need another _SQUAWK_ make it a double!" Captain Morgan yelled from Serenia's shoulder as she approached us with the rest of our orders. "_SQUAWK_ How'd you sleep last night?" This comment was the captain's usual greeting for Katashi, who rarely was able to sleep because of awful recurring nightmares. The parrot had picked up this question from Serenia, but when he said it, it seemed more obnoxious. Serenia clicked her teeth together in annoyance at her shoulder companion as her looked at him and narrowed her green eyes.

"How's everyone?" Serenia's voice usually musical voice was strained revealing that the regulars were starting to get on her nerves.

"We whooped the Samurai' butts!" That was Gosan, the newest and youngest of the gang; everything was still all new and exciting and was he under the impression that everything we did was absolutely wonderful. He had acidic green hair that was short and spiked up with some sort of beauty product, and his eyes were bright blue, like the ocean on a clear day. He had enough metal in his face and ears to melt down and make into a tank; three nose rings, three hoops in his eyebrows and a tongue ring. In his left ear he had a solid line of studs and hoops down the edge with a safetypin and more earrings and hoops in his right ear. It was still a mystery to most of as to why Yuki had let him join, but we trusted Yuki, so we asked no questions and we just hoped that we could beat some intelligence into him.

"_SQUAWK_ Buried 'em in the sand!" Captain Morgan sang a line from an old American song off-key; he then preened himself puffing his chest out with self-importance.

"Well isn't that nice." Serenia smiled slightly as she set down the drinks. "This is a Painkiller," she said handing it to Katashi. "It's made with a cocktail mix of coconut and fruit juice over the rocks with rum."

"Gonna be sleeping it off in a gutter tonight _SQUAWK_!" Captain remarked, flapping his wings before letting out a string of garbled squeaks and whistles.

"Behave yourself, or I'll put you back on your perch," Serenia scolded him.

"Back on your perch!" he echoed, showing that he was going to back off, at least for a little while.

"If you need anything else…" Serenia trailed off before turning on her heel and heading over to the bar where more customers were waiting. Katashi watched her go over the rim of his drink. We sat in silence for a little while just unwinding from the day, I had a glass of water for I knew I would be driving or walking most of them home.

(time elapse)

"Come on, dance with me!" It was one of the regulars at the bar, I think his name was Kiryu.

"Bug off." I shrugged his hand off my shoulder, barely keeping my temper in check; it would do no good for me to lose it in the middle of a crowded bar, no good at all.

"What are you too good for me?" He latched onto my shoulder again and yanked me around to stare into my eyes, his putrid breath invading my nostrils. Gritting my teeth, I cursed myself for sitting in the corner of the booth without the rest of the gang.

"Let go of me or you'll regret it." I hissed at him gathering myself to attack if he didn't heed me, I would knock him out cold.

"Oh really?" He tightened his grip, and I launched into action, throwing my water into his face before hitting him hard in the nose with the heel of my hand. Reaching up, I jammed my thumb deep into the pressure point that would make his arm go numb. Next I swung my legs up onto the empty portion of seat beside me and kicked up, nailing him in the chin, sending him backwards into Katashi who was dancing with Serenia. Not happy at all with being interrupted Katashi knocked him out cold.

"S'bout time fer you t'be goin home," Yuki slurred slinging an arm around my shoulders. "S'not nice to 'urt morons."

"I think you need to go home as well." I supported him as I scanned the crowd for Takeo and Raiden. Takeo was sitting in the corner brooding over his drink, while Raiden was chatting up some girls, one of whom he would probably take home with him.

"Takeo! I'm taking Yuki home!" I called out to my foster brother across the din. He acknowledged my statement with a barely seen nod as I exited the building with my big brother, who was muttering about pretty girls and buckets. In the alleyway, I picked out his bike, and aided him in getting himself onto on it, keeping the kickstand up so the bike wouldn't fall over on him and trap him beneath it while I got on my bike. Hoisting myself up onto the back of my baby, I booted my kickstand up and while straddling her walked myself, and the bike over to Yuki. He was slumped over his bike not exactly in the real world.

"Yuki, sit up and start your bike," I commanded as I started my own, watching my drunken friend do the same with some difficulty. Rolling my eyes, I gathered myself for what was going to be a long ride home as I focused on putting up the kickstand on the bike and keeping it upright with my mind. Once he was done I put both our bikes into gear, one manually and the other telekinetically and began to drive us home. About a half an hour later the two of us staggered up the stairs to our broken down apartment and collapsed onto our separate beds. Sleep claimed me instantly sweeping me off into the depths of the dream world.

* * *

Thank you all! R&R! 


	3. Uta Enters

I am really cold and it is killing me! Thank you to all of my reviewers and especially to Tallulah who is my beta reader! Yes! Thanks to her this chapter now actually makes sense! Now to chat with my reviewers!

Tigercatcher- heh, sorry about the whole mutilation of Kanny's corpse...what can I say...spur of the moment

Kendra- what does blotto mean? I'm not sure if Akira will have the same name, if he doesn't it will be similar so I don't get confused ! He has yet to appear...that's all I'll say on that...thanks ofr thinking my grammer is good, most people (mainly my bud Nikki (name and gender has been chaged))

Standard disclaimers apply!

Chapter 2

(Masago)

Lying in my bed, which was really just a mattress on the floor, I watched the early rays of morning light paint the ceiling a shimmering haze of oranges, reds and yellows. It was Monday, which meant that I had school today, not only did I have school today but I had to wake up my brother from an alcohol-induced sleep; not fun. Sighing loudly, I dragged myself out of bed, and ambled over to my pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of well-worn, ripped and stained jeans and a t-shirt. Slipping out of the large T-shirt and shorts I wore to bed I yanked on my jeans, a bra and the t-shirt, which as soon as I put on I realized was my brother's- I recognized the slogan. It read, "It's all fun and games until someone dies…then it's hilarious." Shaking my head, I approached Yuki, who was sprawled out on the futon across the room from my mattress, his silver hair covering his face.

"Yuki, time to get up." I prodded him with my foot, watching him curl up and moan, "Yuki…GET UP!" I yelled that right in his ear causing him to bolt straight up and then grab his head in agony trying to hold it together and cover his eyes at the same time.

"The hell was that for?" His voice was thick with sleep and his hair was a rat's nest.

"You have to go to work," I sweetly informed him. "Someone has to make money to pay for your drinking habits."

"God, just go away!" He lay back down and buried his head under his pillow.

"This is your last warning Yuki, get up now or I'll go outside and start dismantling your bike and chucking the pieces," I threatened, picking a wrench up off the floor beginning to tap it against my thigh.

"You wouldn't." Yuki tried to sound confident but he wasn't fooling anyone, especially himself.

"Wanna bet?" I turned on my heel, padded over to the door, grabbed my shoes and jacket, put them on and exited the room making sure to close the door loudly. Pausing I touched his mind and listened to him think and spit out curses from across the apartment as he stumbled to his feet and over to the door. Plastering a smile on my face I waited for him to open the door, which he did a moment later, his amber eyes tired but annoyed.

"Have a nice day!" I handed him the wrench and raced down the stairs, just barely missing being hit with the flying tool aimed at my head. Bursting out into the street I drew in a deep breath of fresh air that was tainted by smog and sewer stench; I made my way over to my bike. With a wave of my hand I undid the lock on it and got on booting the kickstand out of the way and starting her up. I had to go pick up Uta before school. Speeding through the twists and turns of the city streets I allowed my mind to wander to the question of how I was going to get through the day with Uta noticing my new bumps and bruises. She would flip if she discovered them; she hated me getting beat up and always complained to Raiden when it happened.

"You ready Uta?" I asked, pulling up next to her and handing her my helmet as I fished out my goggles and put them on.

"Yeah." She got on behind me and bunched her hands in my shirt so she wouldn't fall off. Uta was very pretty; she had the same golden blond hair as her brother but her eyes were a bright deep green color like that of a newly opened leaf. She was one of the sweetest people you would ever meet; she took care of Raiden making sure he ate and got up for work, but she was also a champion nagger. She could get anyone to do anything.

"Let's go." I pulled back into traffic and headed toward the school making sure to follow every law from the speed limit to turn signals and letting pedestrians cross first. Uta was the only one who didn't like me riding with the gang; it wasn't that she thought I was too weak; it was just the fact that she hated the gang period. She hated how dangerous it was and how we beat on each other; she was innocent like that believing that there was a way to make it in this world without getting hurt or hurting others.

When we reached the school I parked and we both got off; Uta smoothed down her skirt and straightened her hair while I merely pulled my goggles down to hang around my neck. The two of us were so different in many ways; I had black hair, she had blond hair; I liked jeans she liked skirts; I wanted independence she liked being dependent; I got in fights she stopped them. In other respects we were very similar; we were both smart; both wanted to protect our family; both didn't complain about little things and we both were two girls stuck in the middle of a whole bunch of guys.

"Rai told me you saved the day last night," Uta said to me softly as we headed to the rundown school. "I wish you wouldn't put yourself in danger like that, what if you hadn't noticed them? You could have died!"

"But I didn't." I opened the door for her and she stopped halfway through it to give me a motherly scowl of disapproval. "Uta, are we going to have to go through this again?"

"Yes." She continued into the school and I followed, unbuttoning my jacket. "We're going to go through this until you pull out of the gang and convince my brother, Yuki and Takeo to do the same thing. I don't want to have to bury you guys, you are my family." She stopped in front of her room and turned to me tears filling her eyes, "You know that I love you all so much."

"Uta, it's our way of survival, if we're not in a gang how are we going to protect ourselves?" I'd said this so many times before.

"If you weren't in a gang you wouldn't have to worry about it!" The tears were gone to be replaced with a burning flame of determination. "If you didn't put yourself out there proclaiming, 'I'm a big bad member of the Blood Wolf gang, come and get me' you wouldn't have to worry." With that she went into the room leaving me to escort myself to my classroom and think about what she had said.

"Sago, how's it hanging?" Haruki slung an arm around me as I sat down next to him.

"It was going just fine until you opened your mouth," I informed him, shoving his arm off my shoulder.

"Oooh, someone's at that time of the month," he said in a singsong tone of voice before I clobbered him with his own book, causing him to splutter in indignation. "What was that for?"

"You were bothering me." I stated this fact as I tipped back my chair and watched the teacher walk in, the usual permanent scowl plastered on her face.

"Look! I think Mrs. Aizawa's in a good mood! The muscle in her jaw is popping out and her eye's twitching," Haruki sarcastically pointed out.

"Which one of you little schmucks trashed my car!" she bellowed, covering the first row in spit and deafening the first two. Keeping my face expressionless I glanced over at Haruki out of the corner of my eye to find him doing the same thing, we quickly glanced back to the front of the class at the same time. "It was you, wasn't it!" She towered over a petrified boy and I could see steam shooting out of her ears as she commenced screaming herself a dangerous shade of red. Her use of curses was quite impressive, and I found myself filing away a few of the threats she spat out at the wide-eyed innocent, who had slipped into shock a while ago.

It took a good twenty minutes for her begin to finally start repeating herself and bring her rant to a close. Her chest was heaving as she backed off to go stand in front of the whole class, her brown eyes still glinting with the light of battle as she scanned us to see if she could spot any accomplices. She lingered a moment over me and Haruki before moving on, eventually deciding there were no other culprits and heading over to her desk where she grabbed a stack of papers. Then she stormed around the room passing out the papers, slamming them down hard so what was on them was hidden.

"Pop quiz, you may begin," she crowed as we all flipped them over and groaned before starting it. Since she was in a bad mood, she prowled the room to make sure no one cheated or talked, for if they did she'd shred their test and hit them upside the head.

When we had finished our test we were given a thick packet of long answer questions that was due tomorrow, and before she let us leave she went off on a long loud lecture about how we should act. Once out of the class Haruki turned to me and said,

"Who woulda thought the bat would get so bent out of shape over a few adjustments?"

Shaking my head I laughed with him as we headed off for our next class.

* * *

I updated now you have to review...gotta go and finish making my tomato soup...don't want it to burn...AHHH! 


	4. Kiriya is Cute

Thank you Tallulah! You are the best! I really like this chapter and I hope the rest of you do too! Waahh! I'm really pathetic! The only person who reviewed my last chapter was my beta reader! I'm sinking down low on the food chain...Oh well THANK YOU TALLULAH!

This chapter is officially dedicated to Tallulah! YOU ARE THE BEST!

Standard Disclaimers Apply

Chapter 3

(Masago)

Walking into our apartment, I was fully prepared to begin working on my homework so I could keep up my good grades, but Yuki had other plans. I had just set down my stuff and was about to sit down myself and start on my work, when he waltzed in looking like the grease monkey he really is. If his fan girls saw him like this they'd be thoroughly put off; his hair was up in a few small ponytails (more like pony-stubs) at odd intervals, and it looked like he'd been marinating in oil. He didn't even have to clear his throat as he entered my little section of the apartment because I could smell the stench of his body odor mixed with gasoline a mile away.

"I need some parts for my bike." He announced this to me as if it was an extremely important piece of information that could save my life.

"Yeah, so?" I raised one of my eyebrows at him as I flipped a textbook open.

"You're coming with me so hurry up." With that he left the room and I glared at his retreating form. What he _really_ meant was, "I need someone to carry the parts I pick out for me because I'm a lazy bum." Sighing I set my book aside and stood up to follow him, not at all thrilled at the prospect of going to get bike parts. He would pick out a few things, then make me stand there and hold them while he chatted with his buddies; plus he would force me to be a passenger on my own bike.

Jamming on my shoes I went outside to find my brother lounging near my bike still sporting his grease monkey look with a smug expression added on. It was annoying. Very annoying. I wanted to rip out one of his pony-stubs. I restrained myself.

"Where are the keys?" He held out his hand like he expected me to hand them over. Like hell.

"I have them," I sweetly informed him as I got on my motorcycle and pulled on my helmet. "Hop on."

"You're not driving." This was stated in the there-is-no-way-I-will-let-you-do-this tone of voice.

"It's my bike," I shot back, shoving my visor up so I could scowl at him properly; I wanted him to receive the full power of my death glare.

"I'm your older brother, I'm in charge of your safety so I'll drive." Yuki narrowed his eyes at me as he slipped into the patronizing elder sibling role.

"No." I slid the set of keys back into my front pocket defiantly. "How many times do I have to tell you Yuki, you will never drive my bike without a fight from me."

"Even though every single time I trounce you?" Yuki demanded.

"Yup." I got off my bike and stood in front of him, my posture relaxed with my arms at my sides. Yuki shook his head at me and I knew for split second he was thinking about how immoral it was to beat up on a girl (and I didn't even have to look into his mind!) before he attacked.

Every time we wrestled or fought, Yuki's speed amazed me, he moved so fast he was almost a blur; and he always went straight in for the kill. He did his usual thing of going for the nose. I was ready for this so I blocked him, and then the real fight began. It was down and dirty, no rules, no mercy, no prisoners. We ended up on the pavement grappling with each other; my teeth sunk in Yuki's shoulder, Yuki's hand fisted in my hair.

About five minutes later, for the first time in my life, I came out victorious from one of our fights. I had defeated him by pinning him to the ground with my knee in the middle of his back as I twisted both his arms behind him. Proudly I got back on my bike and started her up, as Yuki got on behind me muttering about how degrading it was to have his baby sister driving him around. To me it was a dream come true, I had beaten him soundly and was rubbing salt in the wound by getting to drive him to the junkyard.

As I pulled into the lot where they allowed us to park, Yuki hopped off the bike quickly to make sure no one saw me driving him around. Unfortunately there was no one there to witness his humiliation, much to my disappointment. Pulling my helmet off, I set it on top of my bike, before I followed him as he began the search for much needed parts for his motorcycle. He picked things up and examined them closely, sometimes he'd hand them over to me to hold and other times he'd toss them back. By the time he was done I was loaded down with tons of stuff, half of which I didn't think he even needed.

"Yuki, how are you doing?" Akeno popped out of nowhere, a grin plastered on his face.

"Good," Yuki replied giving his friend a one armed hug.

"Find everything you needed?"

"Yup."

"Well then come and meet my new friend, I picked him up off the street. I couldn't believe how good he was with auto mechanics." Akeno and Yuki headed off leaving me to follow with his stuff. Akeno never acknowledges me because I'm a girl and he thinks I shouldn't have a bike. He just pisses me off usually. We walked into his little auto shop where there were three cars in various forms of doctoring. One was up on jacks, another was stripped down to its bones with the pieces scattered around like children's toys and the last was just sitting there. From under the last car a pair of feet stuck out, most likely Akeno's new "friend." Sighing I set down the parts I had been carrying for about half an hour and leaned against the wall.

"Kiriya come out and see Yuki, the one I've been telling you all about!" There was no response but a few seconds later a guy with shaggy black hair and black eyes rolled out from under the car and looked up at my brother and me.

"Hello." He got up and wiped his hands clean on a red rag before reaching out to shake each of our hands. "My name's Kiriya."

"I'm Yuki." My brother grasped his hand in a firm handshake; the way you shook Yuki's hand the first time decided how he would treat you. From the looks of it, it appeared that he had a good handshake and Yuki would give him a chance to prove himself.

"Masago." I shook his hand noting the calluses on it and his firm, steady grip, "I'm Yuki's younger sister." I knew Akeno wouldn't tell him anything about me and my wonderful brother would forget purposely to try and scare anything male away from me. He had told me a long time ago that there was no way I could date until he was cold in the grave and even then if I dated he would haunt me. I had responded that that was fine with me; I would just skip the dating phase and go straight into marriage. He had nearly choked to death on his beer; it had been hilarious.

"It's nice to meet you, Masago, sister of Yuki." He smiled as he let go of my hand and I graced him with a show of my teeth (a form of smile that I usually use to intimidate). "I would have thought him your body guard rather than a brother from the way he places himself in front of you."

"Yeah well the knucklehead is like that," I told him as I watched him, trying to drink in as much detail as possible so I would never forget his face. Something deep inside me whispered to me, telling me that he would be important later on and I should not forget him.

"Hey, a little respect! I'm the one who raised you!" Yuki scowled at me.

"Yeah, exactly…why do you think I am the way I am?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"That's not nice, I'm not the one who warped you, that was Raiden!" Yuki exclaimed.

"So you did nothing? Who was the one who taught me how to fight? Who taught me all the cuss words I know?" I gave him a look that clearly said 'give up I have you backed into a corner.'

"So maybe I'm partially responsible," Yuki admitted.

"Thank you for conceding on that point."

"Hey Yuki I got something I wanna show you," Akeno interrupted and I rolled my eyes knowing this meant I had to stay here and be a good little sister while they went and talked of manly things.

"How long you gonna be? I have homework to do," I snapped; it was nearing the end of the school term and I didn't want to fail.

"As long as it takes," Akeno replied as he and Yuki left. Stamping down on any childish urge to scream or fling something at them, I sat down on the dirty floor. Kiriya stood there seemingly torn between getting back to work and entertaining me.

"Don't worry about being hospitable to me, Akeno hates my guts so he'll probably give you a raise if you're mean to me." I explained this to him as he nodded and sat down on the creeper.

"Well my momma raised me right, she told me to treat every single woman I met with respect." Kiriya cracked his back as he said this. "You seem familiar, have we met before?"

"No, not that I know of." I continued to watch him, wondering what he was thinking…what was going on in his mind. Reaching out mentally, I went to touch his mind and see what was going on, but there was a wall there. It was a natural barrier that blocked people like me from getting into his mind. Focusing harder I zeroed in on it to see if there was a way through it but there didn't seem to be one. Frustrated I gave the equivalent of a body slam against the barrier and instantly knew I had done something wrong as pain raced through me and I was thrown into a pit of darkness.

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Well please R&R! I need people to love me so I can continue...I need support...I'm a starving artist...not reallly... 


	5. Consequences

Thank you! Thank you! I'm finally allowed to update! was being mean to me (pout)!Well here is your warning that it might take a little bit for the next chapters cause I have no idea what I'm doing, I am now officially winging it! Yea! Round of applause! Special thanks to Tallulah for editing this and making it presentable! THANK YOU! I even made sure to use only one exclamation point!

Tallulah- thank you, it's nice to know someone loves me...glad you liked the last chapter and btw a creeper is the wheely thing that you use to slide under the car with, I asked someone so I could know what it was!

**This chapter is dedicated to Tallulah**

Standard disclaimers apply

Chapter 4

(Masago)

The first thing that I noticed upon regaining consciousness was the headache. It felst like my head had been chopped open with an ax and my brains were being scrambled about with a red-hot poker. Moaning loudly, I peeled open my eyes and three worried faces came into view; it took a moment for me to identify them as my brothers. Yuki was just still in his grease monkey clothes, but his usual condescending expression was gone. What had possessed me to do that? To so blatantly try and gain entrance to a guarded mind? I could have died.

"Thank God you're ok!" Raiden cried, hugging me hard causing my whole world to tilt and spin.

"Jesus Raiden! Let go of her! She's turning green!" Yuki pried him off of me and scowled at him as I fought to regain any scrap of composure, but everything was still twirling around me. I knew I was going to barf a split second before I lurched forward and spewed sludge all over Yuki. "Damn it! I help you and you freaking up chuck on me!" My response was a choked groan as I fell off my mattress into the puddle of puke on the floor.

"What happened?" Takeo asked, and I tried to find him in the room by using his voice as a locater but my brain was still screwed up so everything continued to dance about and I couldn't find him. "Sago?" He crouched down in front of me and I focused solely on his eyes to try and steady the world.

"Gawd…w'am I?" I slurred gripping his shoulder with one hand.

"You're in your apartment sitting in your own vomit," Takeo informed me wryly. Nodding slowly, I closed my eyes and leaned against him, fighting to right the damage I had wreaked on my brain. Kiriya's defense had been so strong that it had been like setting off a bomb inside my skull. Everything was gone, everything was dead.

_What's wrong with her? Why is she so screwed up? Was it that punk at the shop? I'll kill him._ Yuki's anger swamped me.

_Why can't my family stay out of trouble? I hope Sago's ok, she really needs to be careful. She needs to get better quick, we need her help. _Takeo's were next, mixing in worry and anxiety.

_Damn it! Why did Sago have to get sick at the exact same time Uta goes on a hunger strike! Why can't we be normal! _Raiden bombarded me and the intensity of all of their emotions made my stomach to churn as I fought to block them out.

_Maybe I should just off myself? No one cares that I even exist. Damn bitch! Who does she think she is? No one leaves me! I can't be late! My kids will kill me! I can't believe that schmuck is cheating on me! MOMMA! Stop! Help! Oh God please help me! Send someone to aid me! I'm going to kill them all. Where is he? Why is he always late? Slice and dice, watch the blood flow. No more pain. AAAHHHH!_

"MAKE IT STOP!" I screamed, scrambling to cover my ears even though I knew it wouldn't end the voices or visions. Tears poured down my cheeks; I couldn't stop screaming.

_It was dark. There was nothing. They were all dead. It was my fault. If I'd only listened…if I'd only tried harder. It was so long ago…my family had lain dead at my feet while I had hidden to save myself. Why did I always survive?_

"_So you are Kaneda's grandchild." It was an old man with kind eyes, "I knew your grandfather and grandmother, they were wonderful people. Did they ever tell you about Akira or Yamagata? How about Tetsuo or Kaori?" _

_She's screaming. She's dying! There's nothing I can do! I'm killing her and I can't stop! HELP ME KANEDA! I can feel her pain! I don't want her to die! KAORI!_

_Beautiful children are running barefoot in a green field, laughing hard as their parents watch. I can't see them. They are happy, but at the same time sad. A cloud hangs over them. Their friends died, leaving them to take care of the two children. Eponine and Vincent, one named from a girl in a play that their mother used to love, the other named for a song she loved. Their father had been such a pushover._

_It's Katashi, he's talking with Serenia at the bar, he's nervous because he has something he wants to give to her but he's not sure how._

"_He killed Yamagata! He's dead!"_

_SOMEONE HELP ME!_

"Sago! Oh God, Sago! Snap out of it!" I could feel them shaking me but I couldn't move, something was gripping me tightly, trapping me between visions and the real world. A sharp pain exploded across my face and suddenly I was back in my room staring up into Takeo's eyes.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded, all semblance of control over himself gone. _What the hell is going on? She suddenly started screaming and then went silent. She was like that for about ten minutes, as stiff as a board!_

"Nothing." I closed my eyes, trying to block the pain of my headache out but it was almost impossible to do. Spots of colored light danced behind my closed lids. My digestive fluids and lunch were seeping into my clothes and at that moment all I wanted to do was strip and then crawl back into bed.

_THE HELL NOTHING HAPPENED! _I reeled back with the force of the thought, losing my grip on him and falling back into another one of my sibs.

"How can we help you if we don't know what's wrong?" Raiden demanded and I was nearly blown over by the anger and hostility he was feeling towards me. He wanted to help and I was refusing to allow him and the others to. Everything was beginning to spin again so I closed my eyes.

"I was having visions of the past, present and future." I muttered, knowing how they felt about this subject. "I had direct trauma to my mind, so I'm vulnerable." _I thought she was over this phase. Why now? I thought she had gotten over this? What next? Great, another thing to deal with. _Anger boiled up within me, and I nearly exploded and gave them a piece of my mind - if I did my brain would probably do the same thing. I hated it when they did this. They had never believed that I was psychic and it bugged the shit out of me.

"Ok, are you going to be all right?" Takeo was patronizing me and I wanted to throttle him. _Maybe if I humor her she'll let this go and we can figure out what is _really_ wrong._ _Maybe she's having a relapse._ I gritted my teeth as I reined myself in and practiced control.

"Yes, I'll be fine," I snapped at them, cradling my aching head in my hands.

"Um…good, then." Yuki patted me on the shoulder. _Thank God she's not going to go off on one of her rants. I can't handle it right now._

"Uta's gone on another hunger strike and we need you to get her off of it! She's skinny enough as it is," Raiden informed me and I pulled myself up to my feet using Yuki as my support. _Damn Sago's getting heavy. What the hell does she eat, Uta weighs less than her. I don't want my baby sis to die!_

"Why? Cause she wants us to quit the gang?" I would have raised an eyebrow at this but I knew it would intensify the pain.

"Yup." Raiden took my elbow and helped me over to the shitty little washroom in the corner of the apartment. _Why does she do this to us? Being in the gang is our livelihood; we can't just give it up! I hope Sago can talk to her almost immediately, but I don't want to push her. She seems on the edge… doesn't look too good._

"Once I'm cleaned up I'll go and talk to her." I shook him off and shut the door in his face. "Get me a new set of clothes."

"Yes Ma'am." _Bossy little thing._ I was getting sick of all the commentary about myself. I know I'm not perfect but hearing every single criticism of myself was rather hard.

Twenty minutes later I was fresh and clean, sitting next to Uta a box of her favorite chocolates in my lap. It was wide open so she would be able to see and smell them. On the table next to us I had piled a bunch of fatty foods she loved and a couple bottles of her favorite drink. She was trying to ignore the food while she talked to me but I kept alluding to food and eating and every now and then I'd pop a chip or piece of chocolate in my mouth.

"What happened to your face?" That was the first question she had asked as soon as I sat down. _I bet she got it in a bike fight! How can I get them to stop! I've got to stay strong! Why did she have to bring food?_

"I got it fighting for the last bag of chips in the store." I told her as I ate a few, crunching them loudly for her to hear.

"Well, you shouldn't fight." _I want some chips! No, vigilance! I must win! They have to quit._

"Yeah, well, I really wanted these chips and the only way to get them was to brawl with the testosterone pumped construction worker who wanted them as well." I thought the lie was pretty nice, cause if she knew half my face was bruised and swollen because of Raiden slapping me to bring me back she would flip.

"A construction worker? How awful! He could have really hurt you! You should be more careful!" Uta scolded me. _Foooood. I'm so hungry. I want chocolate!_

"Want a piece of chocolate?" I offered her the box. "They're absolutely delicious, aren't these your favorite?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I must decline, I'm on a hunger strike," Uta coolly stated. _CHOCOLATE!_

"Why a hunger strike? Why not try something else?" I waved the box at her, tempting her, baiting her, waiting for her to latch on to the excuse.

"There is no other way." _I could dismantle their bikes. I could steal the keys to the bikes. I could serve them bad food. I could…no, this is the best way. If I eat I'll prove to them that I'm not serious! I'm sooooo hungry! There is the possibility of starving them, which might work. But I told Raiden I wouldn't eat until he gave up the gang…I can't let them think me weak._

"Come one, you know you want some." I rattled a bag at her._ God knows I want to but I can't give in. There _are _other possibilities. I think that those choice are the way to go because don't they always say in health that not eating can cause irreversible damage? I wouldn't want that. I should eat. I can eat!_

"You're right Sago, I can take care of this problem differently, would you hand me that bag of chips?" Silently, I handed her the bag and watched her begin to stuff her face. It wasn't fair that she weighed less than me I was smaller than her. "Do you want anything?" She paused to offer me some of her goodies.

"Nah, I'm gonna head home." I stood up and gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving the apartment. On my way out, Raiden picked me up and spun me around, thanking me from the bottom of his heart for getting her to stop. Giving him a wan smile, I left and was instantly assaulted by the thoughts every stinking person was thinking. Hurrying out of the building, I leaped on my bike and zoomed off to the one place where I knew there would be no one to bother me.

Haphazardly I swerved through traffic, tears of pain streaking down my cheeks from my headache that had never really gone away. Where I wanted to go was the site where it looked like a bomb had detonated a long time ago. My grandfather had told me once that he had been there when it had happened, but he had never told me _what_ had happened. I seemed to be able to find peace whenever I went there, no matter what. It was like a safe zone that no one could penetrate. My secret hiding place.

Skidding into the middle of it, I parked and got off my bike. Everything was still the same from the last time. There had been a movement to clean it up and put apartments here, but the idea hadn't lasted long. It would have taken much too long. There was junk, trash and heaps of rubble everywhere. I did some research on my place once and found out that before it blew up it had been going to be a Olympic stadium. I was at a place where famous people would have been.

Scrambling up to the top of a heap of rubble I spotted a lone figure sitting in my usual spot. Anger filled me - this was _my_ place and there was someone here. Staring at the person, I tried to figure out if I knew them but I couldn't really see them from my vantage point. Sighing, I moved closer and discovered it was an old man who was sitting there staring out into space.

It was the man from my vision. The one who had known my grandpa.

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R&R...cause you know you love me! I'm soooo adorable! (Now I just need to learn how to punctuate...damn...) 


	6. Blast From the Past

I know none of you care but I scraped like a whole layer of skin off my toe! It hurts! But enough on my petty problems, here is the next chapter and you all better kiss Tallulah's feet cause if it weren't for her you'd be getting crap, she's the one who whips me into shape when I write badly!

ShadowAngel26- Glad you liked it...keep reviewing but please leave out _that_ word

Tallulah- ok...here we go, yes I am American! _I'm a kid in America_ (singing off tune and switches abruptly to Green Day) _Don't wanna be an American idiot!_ I checked my Japanese dictionary and it is Neesan, it means older sister, it's a less formal way, I believe sort of like sissy or something...well thank you for betaing and reviewing.

Gijinka Renamon- thank you for review and I'm glad you like it!

Standard disclaimers apply

Chapter 5

(Masago)

I stood there on top of that junk heap in the middle of that destroyed area staring at the man, my long hair whipping around behind me in the wind. I didn't know what to do. Obviously I was going to speak to him sooner or later, I had seen it. None of visions had ever been wrong and I didn't think they were about to start right now. But I didn't want to talk to him, right now, tomorrow or ever. I just wanted to sit down and be alone. Not have to worry about anything. Waves of sadness, almost like despair, were rolling off him. I wasn't close enough to him to be able to hear his thoughts but I could almost guarantee I didn't want to. Lifting my foot to begin my retreat, I tripped and fell down creating a sound loud enough to wake the dead. The man turned to look at me and I nearly died. Here I was flat on my ass in front of some old man who supposedly knew my family with my face all puffy and red from crying.

"Do you want something?" he asked rather roughly and I found myself comparing him to my fellow gang mates; that's how they usually talk.

"Not really." I stood up and lost my footing, stumbling into 'thought range.' _Who does she remind me of? She looks familiar._

"Who are you?" He was eyeing me warily as he took in what I looked like and I had to listen to his mental critique of how I appeared. To sum it up: I was too short, too thin and too red and puffy.

"Masago," I muttered trying to think up a way to get the hell out of here. I didn't want to deal with this right now. "What's your name?"

"Kai," he answered and I filed his name away. "What are you doing here?" It was nice that he wasn't thinking too much now, just asking what came to mind.

"I came here to get away from it all. To escape from people and their thoughts." Figuring there was no point in trying to dodge the upcoming conversation, I sat down and pulled my hair over one shoulder. Uta liked the fact that I had long hair; she thought it was nice that I had one feminine thing about me. Yuki and the rest only saw it as a hazard and thought I should cut it off. Absently I separated the tresses into three sections and began braiding. I kept my hair long because one of the only things I can remember about my mother was that she loved long hair. It was one of the only things I had that reminded me of her and my family.

"Have you ever heard of someone named Kaneda?" I asked this not because I wanted to know or because I was curious but because it seemed a logical way to start the conversation. My head was still throbbing and pounding and so I didn't feel like beating around the bush.

"Why?" He was wary of me and had every right to be; I mean if I was some old decrepit guy who most likely wore Depends I would be a little cautious. I could easily be some whacked out psycho (which wasn't too far from the truth) who wanted to beat him up and steal all of his money.

"Cause I'm looking into my family history." I couldn't help the sarcasm that seeped into my voice, it was pure accident. "My grandfather's name was Kaneda and his wife was Kei, other than that I don't know much else." _How could I have not known! Of course she is Kaneda's grandkid, she looks very similar and she's sure got his attitude down pat._

"So you're Kaneda's grandkid, shoulda known." He looked at me and I got the feeling he wasn't seeing me. "I knew your grandparents, they were good people." It was what he had said in my vision, but slightly different and that threw me. In the vision he had spoken better, more correctly, he was saying basically the same thing, but it was different. "Did they ever tell you about Akira or Yamagata? Tetsuo and Kaori?"

"Thank you Kai." I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed my braid behind me. It felt so nice to have that out of the way. "No, they never told me about those people. Kei died giving birth to my father, and Kaneda was killed when I was very young, along with the rest of my family." Dark anger began to bubble up inside me but I tamped it down; there was no need to have a fit in front of some poor old geezer.

"I'm sorry." There was genuine regret in Kai's voice, which surprised me. Most people just say they're sorry because they're at a loss for words but when he said it, it was like he meant it. _So you beat me there after all Kaneda…all three of you. Now I'm really on my own._

"Who were those people you spoke of?" I wanted to know for some odd reason.

"They are part of the past," Kai responded coldly but I caught the flash of emotion running through him. _Why would she want to know? Why should I dredge up the past? It won't help anything. _Hundreds of images, feelings and voices flashed through my mind. My grandfather crashing a bike. Wind whipping through your hair while the thrill of the chase takes you over. Kei walking across water. _KANEDA!_ Kai sobbing over someone's body. A huge explosion. Your soul being ripped from your body; your one true love is dead. A young boy on a heap of rubble, he's high on capsules. That music that Kaneda loved. _If you wanted to die why didn't you just hang yourself or something?_ Tears spilling down your cheeks. _What about my burning desire to study and learn a vocation! _Hands sliding over your skin. Lips on yours. The rising sun symbol. _YAMAGATA! _

The screaming went on and on but it wasn't in my or Kai's head anymore, it was coming from me. For the second time today I was screaming and sobbing unable to control myself whatsoever. The pressure in my head was increasing until I felt like it was in a vise and someone was cranking the handle, causing it to go tighter and tighter. Something popped and I collapsed, all the tension gone from my body, and I lay there, tears leaking from under my closed eyelids.

"Holy hell," Kai breathed next to me, it would have been humorous had I been in another condition. "What happened?"

"You won't believe me," I groaned, curling up into a ball. "There's no point in explaining."

"You don't know till you try." _It was like what happened to Tetsuo that once after he had beaten up that Clown. _An image of a black haired boy stumbling down the street clutching his head popped into my mind, then an image of me curled up on the ground.

"I can hear every thought that crosses your mind and every other person's mind. I can see into the future, feel others emotions, move things without touching them and communicate mind to mind." I waited for him to scoff and say something derogatory, but I wasn't expecting:

"That explains a lot." Cracking open an eye I looked up at Kai who was watching me. "Your grandfather never told you about Tetsuo?" The boy clutching his head popped into my mind, the same one on the rubble heap who was high on capsules.

"No," I croaked, sitting up and coughing hard. "Why should he have?"

"Your grandpop and I were in the same gang along with Tetsuo and my…" He hesitated trying to figure out what to say. _What should I say? My friend? I loved him and him me, but maybe this girl won't get that; even now people are stupid about it. They don't understand that you don't have to be different genders to be in love._

"Your lover?" I offered this for him, I didn't mind homosexual relationships, "You guys were in love right?"

"Yes, his name was Yamagata." The rising sun symbol flashed through my mind. A nice looking dark haired guy showing his injuries to a girl. The same guy who must have been Yamagata yelling loudly about something. Him asleep with his sheet wrapped around his waist showing off his muscular chest. On his bike. Laughing. Teasing. Smiling. Scowling. Drinking.

"One night when the gang was fighting our main rivals Tetsuo got in an accident." The boy was back but was lying on the ground obviously badly hurt. "He was taken away to what we thought was a hospital; were we ever wrong. He was taken to some sort of scientific facility, they woke up some dormant power inside of him." Tetsuo flinging Yamagata back without touching him. _He wasn't himself_. "He turned into this evil creature that none of us recognized." Kai paused for a moment and closed his eyes, his throat worked but nothing came out. "He…he _killed_ Yama right in _front_ of me." He swallowed hard and bowed his head. Yamagata's body, twisted and mangled, was all I could see even though my eyes were open.

"The fucking bastard killed him!" Kai clenched his fists, "I watched him die! There was nothing I could do! Nothing!" His anger, remorse and hatred swamped me and I found myself drowning in his intense emotions. _There was nothing I could do! Yama please forgive me! I'm so sorry!_

"Stop!" I gasped, struggling to disengage from his mind and emotions but I couldn't. It was all starting to hurt again and I wanted it to stop.

"Sorry." Kai cut himself off and stopped thinking about it.

"Don't be, I'm so sorry for your loss but I can't handle your emotions right now," I whispered, my voice sounding hoarse and strained. "It's my fault, please go on."

"I don't really know what happened in the end, I wasn't there." Kai was trying to not feel or think about his feelings but all the images engulfed me. A huge explosion of light taking over the whole city. Kei realizing that Kaneda was in there. The aftermath of trying to find Kaneda and thinking him dead. _KANEDA! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! _He said Tetsuo wasn't dead, just gone. It was easier to think him dead. "It happened right here. He killed Kaori, his girlfriend, before he died." A young innocent girl, she followed Tetsuo around like a puppy. She loved him. "He killed countless others as well."

"How does that explain anything?" I asked, wanting him to get to the point.

"Kei was a medium, I think, for the sort of power you have," Kai explained. Kei walking across water with an aged young child who was blue. "Kaneda said they could control her actions. He told me that she was the beginning of humans gaining more power, like what Tetsuo had."

"So you're saying that…" I trailed off staring at him in horror; I could be like Tetsuo? I could end up killing all those I cared for? Would I turn into some kind of monster like him? Is this my future? Tetsuo's past?

"It makes sense that you and your family would inherit her powers," Kai told me. My family? I don't think my family ever displayed powers like mine, none of them! A memory rose up from the depths of my mind, a pot with a wooden spoon in it stirring the pot by itself while Chiyo cut up something next to it. Chiyo had had powers! While I was still revelling in the fact that I wasn't the only one in my family who had possessed power, Kai had begun talking again.

"-do you live with?" Focusing in on him I was able to catch enough of his question to make sense of it.

"When my family was killed I was put in an orphanage." I started in on my own tale. "I ran away multiple times but they always got me back somehow. Finally I ran into Yuki and his lot, they took me in so I didn't have to go back. Yuki, Raiden and Takeo banded together to take care of me. All four of us are in a gang together, Yuki's the leader with Takeo and Raiden in second."

"How come you say 'my family was killed' and not 'my family's dead?'" Kai hit the nail right on the head. He asked the question that _no one_ ever asked. Like all those years ago, that other presence inside me came to life, but this time it didn't comfort me. Uncontrollable anger and hatred flooded through my system.

"My family was _slaughtered_ by the underground, you know, the people who sell illegal drugs and weapons." My voice was not my own, it was someone else's, and the tone was pure ice. "My father refused to deal with them, he didn't want their blood on his hands." I was starting to breathe harder as I clenched my fists. "They came in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, filthy cowards! We were defenseless! They dragged us outside and torched the house just in case someone else was in there." I was starting to shake hard, along with some pieces of junk nearby. "My mother shoved me under our neighbor's car when no one was looking. She saved me right before they began to beat the shit out of all of them!" Random things flew into the air around me and began to whip around me like a tornado. "I hit my head and blacked out, and when I woke up…each and every one of them was dead."

_Mommy! _I was reliving it! I didn't want to! Make it stop! _Mommy! Wake up! _I grabbed her arm, it was ice cold, there was no more life in it but I still shook it as hard as I could. _Why won't you get up? Mommy! Daddy! Where are you Daddy? Make Mommy get up! _There he was, there was Daddy, he would make Mommy wake up, he'd make her stop playing this game! Grabbing on to his sleeve I caught sight of his face and jerked backwards. What had happened to Daddy? Why did he look like that? My hand touched someone else so I turned to see who it was. _Grandpa!_ He was watching me with his black eyes, but they weren't smiling any more. Clapping my hands over my mouth I trapped a scream, Mommy had told me to be quiet and I had to listen to her. My vision blurred with tears.

_Chiyo! _If I find her she'll know what to do! She always knows what to do! Hurrying over to where I saw the blue of her nightgown I found her lying in a pool of red water. Her eyes were open just like Grandpa's and she was holding Goro tightly. _Why did they do this neesan? Why?_ I looked away, knowing that soon Chiyo would yell at me to take Goro because he was getting too heavy, but she didn't. _Kami! Manzo!_ I rested my small hand on my brother's face, ripping my hand away when I came into contact with cold skin and blood. Then I began to cry.

"Masago! Masago, snap out of it!" Someone was shaking me, calling me back; opening my eyes, I found Kai watching me, worry etched on his face.

"Mmm'ok," I murmured and he stared at me in disbelief. Trying to break the tension I glanced at my watch and started. "Shit! Yuki's going to kill me! I was supposed to be home about three hours ago!" Quickly I shoved myself to my feet and was about to hurry off to my bike when I remembered a question I had wanted to ask him. "Kai, why do you come here? I mean, I've never seen you here before."

"I only come here on the anniversary of Tetsuo's death," he whispered not looking at me but at the full moon in the sky. "I come here after I visit Yama's grave." _Why did I survive, Yama? You were so much stronger and better! You had more to live for! _

"I'm sorry that I interrupted you, I didn't mean to ruin your day of mourning." I bowed my head and said a short but meaningful prayer for Tetsuo, Kaori and Yamagata. "I'm sorry that I must leave so abruptly, please forgive me." I bowed and only after he responded with an accepting motion did I leave to go to my bike. Since there was no one riding behind me I didn't bother to do anything with my hair and just pulled on my gloves. It was a short ride home because I was absorbed in my thoughts so much that I couldn't hear anyone else's. Soon I was standing outside of our apartment door listening to Yuki pace back and forth worrying about me.

Placing my hand on the doorknob I twisted it, preparing myself for what was to come. I knew I would be yelled at for not coming straight home or at least telling him where I was going but it was the fact that he cared enough about me to worry and yell at me that warmed me. Pushing open the door, I embraced what was to come immediately and pushed aside any thoughts of what was going to happen after that. Everyone said to live in the present, not in the past or the future. That was what I was going to do.

* * *

R&R!1 


	7. Crazy Cousins

Hey everyone...how are you all doing? Sorry for the long wait between chapters...school...need I say more? Well here it is! Thank you to Tallulahmy beta, please stand up and takea bow! She has had to overcome my awful punctuation time and time again!

Thank you yet again Tallulah for being the ONLY one to review!

I dedicate this chapter to Tallulah!

Standard disclaimers apply

Chapter 6

(Masago)

Yawning, I stretched and sat up, squinting around the room blearily. It was Saturday and I had absolutely nothing to do; I could lie in bed all day and there was no one to stop me. Flopping backwards, I lay there sleepily, tracing cracks and water stains on the ceiling until I began to fade back into the void of sleep. My limbs grew heavy and I felt myself begin to drift, it was like floating in a sea of blackness where nothing could touch you.

"UP! UP! UP! UP!" Yuki bellowed before he booted me clear out of my bed and onto the floor. "Embrace the day, young one!" Sprawled out on the floor I vaguely wondered _why_ I hadn't killed him yet. Groaning softly, I pulled my pillow off the mattress and clamped it over my head.

"Go 'way," I slurred out. "'s Saturday."

"Revenge is such a sweet thing!" Yuki ripped my pillow off my head and stuck his smiling face right up into mine. "Hello it's ten-o-clock, do you know where your brain is?"

"No!" I felt my grasp on sleep slipping, if I fully lost it I wouldn't be able to sleep until tonight.

"Well you have a visitor!" Yuki hauled me up and patted me on my cheeks.

"They can go screw themselves," I snarled narrowing my eyes at him.

"Now why do I have a feeling you're talking to me and not your visitor?" he questioned raising his eyebrows and trying to look cute and innocent.

"Do you know what happens to smart asses?" I growled.

"You might want to clean up before you go and see your little friend!" Yuki told me before he let go and left my partitioned off part of the apartment, considered my room. Without anyone supporting me, I dropped like a rock, right onto the cold hard floor. Standing up, I ran a hand through my hair and stumbled into the living area of our humble abode and spotted Kiriya.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Uh, I came to see how you were doing, when you collapsed the other day I wasn't able to come and see you," he replied smiling at me kind of sheepishly. "Your brothers said you were alright but I just wanted to make sure."

"Ickle little Kiri-kun even brought you flowers!" Yuki sang, sailing by on his way to the door, the comic book I threw at him missing by a centimeter. "Don't forget, Kiriya, I have a metal pipe and a pass to the dump and I know how to use them!" Rolling my eyes at the threat he had just made, I grabbed the bucket of oil he had brought up the other night and dragged it over to the window. With a little bit of difficulty I shoved the window sash up and hoisted the bucket onto the sill and waited. When I saw his silver haired head come into sight, I tipped the bucket and watched in satisfaction as the second-hand oil hit its target, soaking my brother utterly and completely.

"Love you honey! Have a nice day!" I called after him as he cursed me a couple times over.

"Your brother loves you a lot," Kiriya said when I turned around, a slight smile lingering about his mouth. I got the impression from him that he didn't smile too much and laughed even less.

"Of course he loves me," I told him digging into a pile of rags that had the potential to be what I would wear today. "I'm the best thing that ever happened to him! He worships the very ground I walk on."

"I see, do you dump oil on him every day?" Kiriya asked as I yanked out one of my favorite shirts.

"Nah, not everyday." I turned to look at him, "Why don't we try this: you go out in the hall, wait ten minutes and then knock on the door and we'll start again, but this time I'll look half way human."

"Sounds fine to me." Kiriya stood up and walked out the door. Immediately I shed my pajamas and climbed into a pair of raggedy old jeans along with a black tank top. Next I tamed my hair and put it in a tight braid. Hearing a knock on the door, I went over to it and wrenched it open.

"Hello," I greeted him, leaning against the doorjamb and looked at him taking in the fact that his hair was pulled back into a tiny ponytail and he held a little potted plant.

"I hope you're feeling better," he began, holding out the small plant. "I thought you might like a plant for your windowsill, it's a Jasmine Tobacco plant, it only blooms at night."

"Thanks." I took the plant and set it on the nearby table; what the hell was I going to do with a potted plant? "Would you like to come in?"

"No, I was wondering if you'd like to go do something together?" He shrugged slightly and I couldn't help it; my brain went into full out perversion mode. What did he consider something? Groping at a local bar? Swapping spit? Molesting me?

"What exactly is 'something'?" I tried to keep my tone light and not give him a good glare, but I don't think I succeeded because he hung his head and chuckled a little.

"Something: an activity that is fun and allows me to enjoy your presence," Kiriya defined his term, but I was still skeptical. "Like basketball, a walk, swapping bike stories, playing arcade games…the list goes on." He watched me as I contemplated whether or not I wanted to do this. I could go and have a good time, but what if he was just trying to get me alone? "If it helps you make your decision you can choose what we do and who we bring." Chewing on my bottom lip I looked at all my options; go out and have some fun with a cute guy, or hang around my home until I got totally and completely bored.

"Why don't we go play some basket ball," I suggested grabbing my jacket.

"Sounds good." Kiriya stepped back and allowed me to lock the door to the apartment.

(time elapse)

A few games of basketball later, the both of us were sweating and cursing with a passion as we blocked each other and stayed tied. Kiriya had abandoned his shirt at the end of the first game and his upper torso glistened with sweat. A lazy grin was slapped across his face as he watched me dribble the ball languidly back and forth. I was in no better shape. My tank top was soaked through and most of my hair had escaped from my braid to plaster itself against my flushed face and neck. Above us the sun was beating fiercely down on our poor bodies, slowly frying any brain cells we had left.

I don't know how many times I had tackled him in order to try and gain possession of the ball. It didn't always work. It was our fifth game; I had won two, as had he, and this was the determining game. On the sidelines a small crowd had formed and were alternating between cheering and jeering at us. Right now, as I contemplated my options and tried to devise a plan to win, they were trying to convince me to do what they wanted. Some of their ideas weren't half bad while others were utterly ridiculous.

"Do you know what time it is?" Kiriya questioned me, and I casually glanced at my watch. Taking a moment to remind my half dead brain which hand was which, I figured out what time it was and looked up to tell him what it was, only to find I had been tricked. The ball was ripped from my grip and tossed through the hoop, leaving me glaring at my opponent.

"Just so you know, it's one-thirty," I coolly informed him, disdain dripping off every word.

"Crap…" he huffed, mopping his face up with his shirt. "I promised my cousins that I would have lunch with 'em. How about I make up for my cheating ways by treating you to a free home cooked meal."

"Sounds good to me." I shrugged as he nodded and grabbed his ball. "Where does your cousin live, because I don't think my legs are going to hold me up much longer."

"Just down the road," he responded. "I know what you mean, you're a nasty enemy on the court. There were a few times when I was fearing for my life!" Humor laced his voice as he slung an arm around my shoulders and instantly I went to shrug it off, but he stopped me. "Please allow this poor defeated soul some support, I'm about to fall over." Rolling my eyes I allowed him to keep his arm there, but if he did _anything_ funny I was going to pound his butt into the ground real fast. About two or three blocks later he steered me through the main doors of a halfway decent-looking apartment building.

"Now just as a warning, my cousins can be a little strange." Kiriya pulled a face as he said this and led me up four flights of stairs to stop in front of a light blue door. Grasping the doorknob, he opened the door and we stepped into a small apartment that was brimming with light and happiness.

"Ha! I told you he was going to bring a guest!" a female voice crowed from somewhere out of my line of vision. "You owe me a foot massage!"

"That's not very fair to Takashi, Kiyo; I mean, you are clairvoyant." a male voice replied.

"Well it's his own fault, he's the one who keeps betting against me," Kiyo returned. "Come on in Kira! We're having your favorite!" Pulling off our shoes, the two of us ventured further into the apartment to meet Kiriya's cousins. They were in the living area of their home, two guys and a girl.

"Masago, may I introduce you to my cousin Kiyoko." Kiriya swept an arm out to indicate the female who was grinning broadly and I instantly drew the connection to the two. She had long auburn hair that hung in shinning waves down to her hips, and sparkling brown eyes that laughed at me silently. Grasping the wheels of her wheelchair, she moved closer to me and offered her hand.

"Hello Masago, you can call me Kiyo, everyone does." Reaching out, I clasped her hand and smiled at her softly, not too sure how to act. I wasn't very good around people. I could handle the in-your-face bikers I hung around but other than that I wasn't much of a social person.

"It's nice to meet you." I released her hand and Kiriya moved on to introduce the other two.

"This is Masaru, Kiyoko's twin." A black haired, black-eyed man nodded at me; he was a little heftier than his twin.

"And Kiyo's boyfriend," Kiriya told me, motioning to the last person in the room. "His name is Takashi."

"Hello!" He shook my hand as well and I felt myself relaxing; these were good people, and there was no reason to be uptight.

"So how did you meet my cousin?" Kiyo asked as Kiriya offered me a place next to him on a loveseat. The irony didn't escape me.

"At the auto shop, I was there with my brother and I collapsed," I explained.

"I see." Kiyo was watching me a little strangely as she listened.

"You said you had lunch…" Kiriya trailed off hopefully.

"You're such a little beggar," Kiyo chuckled. "The food's in the other room, let's go in there." As Takashi passed me, pushing Kiyo, I caught the tail end of a thought from him. _…she knows? _I knew they were talking about me, but what was I supposed to or not supposed to know? Concentrating a little harder, I succeeded in picking up the rest of the conversation.

_She might, I don't know. The wall she has naturally around her mind is amazing, _Kiyo answered, not pausing in what she was doing, which was ordering Kiriya around.

_Do you think she's the one? _Takashi asked as I slipped into the chair he had pulled out for me, smiling nicely at him.

_I can't read her future, her path is still very uncertain. I want her to be the one, but I don't want him burdened, he is so happy. _Kiyo sounded sad even though she was laughing on the outside with her brother over a fond memory.

_She is very strong, even more than Tetsuo ever was._ Gasping loudly, I snapped out of their conversation and found everyone staring at me. How could these two know Tetsuo? He had been my father's friend, that would make them extremely old, and they didn't look it! Breathing slowly I tried to pull myself under control to think it out. Tetsuo was dead, at least that's what Kai had said…no, wait…he had said Tetsuo was _gone_, not dead. What if he was still alive and out there?

"Masago?" Looking at Kiriya, I noted the worried expression on his face, and I shoved all of my questions to the back of my mind.

"Sorry, I just had a disturbing thought." I shrugged it off and turned my attention to the food on my plate, it looked delicious. "How old are you Kiyo?"

"Twenty-five," she said and I knew she spoke the truth. "And you?"

"I'm eighteen years old." I began to eat, and found the food to be even better than it looked. "This is wonderful! Did you make it all by yourself, Kiyo?"

"Actually Masaru made it." Kiyo laughed at the look on my face. "Surprising, huh? Masaru has always been a whiz in the kitchen while I couldn't boil water to save my life! Do you like to cook?"

"No; my sister does, though, her name's Uta." I didn't know why I was talking so much.

"Hey! How are you guys doing?" A guy who looked strikingly familiar sauntered into the room. "I got off of work early so I thought I'd stop by." Then it hit me who it was. Black spiky hair. Black eyes. The voice. It could only be one person.

Tetsuo.

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Dun dun dunnnnnnnn...cliffie! REVIEW and I MIGHT consider updating...yes that is a threat 


	8. Akira Revealed

oops...I've had this for a while but fergot to post it...sorry

Standard disclaimers apply

Chapter 7

(Masago)

"Masago?" Kiriya shook me, but I couldn't take my eyes off the young man in front of me. He was the spitting image of the boy in Kai's memory, he couldn't be anyone else, but if he was, why wasn't he flipping out? Wasn't he crazy? Opening my mouth to say something, I found I didn't know what to say. My world was falling down around me and it felt like nothing could put it back up.

"Masago?" Kiyo touched my shoulder. "Will you go on a walk with me? I think there's something you need to know." Nodding to Kiriya that I was ok, she helped me out of the kitchen and apartment. When were in the hall she led me to an elevator that she had a key to. In silence we rode down toground level and she watched me closely as she wheeled out onto the street.

"How is it possible?" I demanded; there was no need to explain any further, as I could see Kiyo nodding her understanding.

"A very long time ago I was born into a home where I was unwanted; they put me into an orphanage.I was then transferred to a lab where they brought out my special talents. There were three others with me; Masaru, Takashi and Akira; we all had a certain power that they brought out. We merely existed; we had no purpose save to take tests and sometimes use our unique powers." Bitterness laced her voice as she guided us to a small park that was nearly empty. "Akira was by far the strongest, and for that he had to endure more tests than us. He never complained, and he was the one who kept our spirits up with jokes and smiles." Sitting down on the grass next to where she had stopped moving, I waited for her to continue. For a moment she sat there and just stared off into space.

"Our bodies' growth had been stunted by all the tests so we would neverbecome taller than we had been when we went in. The scientists had all these ideas; they tested everything out first on Akira, because if he could handle itthen we could. Then they stopped testing at all; we thought that maybe they would leave us alone. One of them had come up with this idea of ultimate energy, power that was just hidden within the makeup of your very cells. They worked on it and worked on it until they had come up with an idea of how to bring it out." Kiyo sighed and went quiet. "When they had a good idea of what to do they took Akira away. We didn't see him for months, and when he came back he was so very different." She broke off as a group of children ran by, giggling and having fun.

"He always looked tired and he would have awful hallucinations and seizures. When he was not being pumped full of drugs and was lucid, he would tell me and the others what had happened. The ultimate energy that had been brought out, it was slowly killing him because his body wasn't made to control it. He could see much further into the future than I could at the time and he told me in secret that some day we would all be reborn and that we would all be happy." Shaking her head Kiyo looked at me. "The next day they pushed him too far in their study. He completely lost it and destroyed Tokyo before they could kill him. After he was dead they took his organs so they could study them. When they figured out they wouldn't be able to figure it out they preserved them for future generations.

"They kept us alive in hopes that they could figure out what had gone wrong and fix it. So many years passed and the people of the city grew restless due to rumors that the God Akira was coming to save them. Takashi was kidnapped, and in that one night he was away, he set in motion a whole chain of events that changed the world. That night, there was an accident, and a young boy named Tetsuo was involved. In order to – what they called save him, but a better perspective was damn him – they awoke his powers. They did what they had done to Akira. Tetsuo was not ready for it, so his body overloaded, so when Akira was resurrected, the both of them weren't ready. In the chaos of Akira coming back I realized this couldn't have been what he was talking about, he took out almost the whole of Neo-Tokyo.The three of us – Masaru, Takashi and I – were able to save a few from the destruction, your grandfather was one, and we took Tetsuo away. We then waited in darkness until the time was right to be reborn."

"And so now that's happened?" I asked, and she nodded. "Doesn't that mean Tetsuo has ultimate power as well?"

"Yes, he has it, but since he was born with it this time, he was able to handle the gradual build up of it. When the power is forced upon you in one great wave your body can't handle it." Kiyo shuddered. "It's an awful thing to have to watch."

"Where's Akira?" I demanded. "I've seen Masaru, you, Takashi and Tetsuo, but no Akira."

"For some reason Akira wasn't born with his powers. We pray that his body will be able to handle the power,but we don't know how he'll receive it." Kiyo rubbed her neck, as if she was trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. "We think that you're the key to helping him get his memories and powers back and maybe keeping him sane."

"Who is he?" I demanded; how could I know him? Who could he be?

"You already know him; his name is Akira Kiriya."

* * *

Any ideas for the next chapter would help

AND REVIEW!


	9. Drinking and Drugs

Thank you all for waiting so patiently! Here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks Tallulah for being my beta...YOU'RE THE BEST!

Double-Z: -glows- Oh yes, I'm writing an excellent story and don't you know it! Thank you!

Margarite Estella: I made someone's day interesting? Really? COOL! I'm glad you like it and I hope you think this chapter is just as good!

Tallulah: I got cured -nods enthusiastically-

Standard Disclaimers Apply

Chapter 8

(Masago)

Lying on my bed, I tried to figure out what to do. After Kiyoko had told about what had happened, I had told her I needed to think about it, and comehome. Yuki wasn't here so I was left to entertain thoughts of what could be and what had been. Questions buzzed around in my brain. Should I tell the gang? What would they do? Who should I talk to? Why me?

Next to me, the phone rang. For a moment I lay there and contemplated whether or not to pick it up. On the third ring I gave in and answered.

"Hello?" I knew I didn't sound myself, but I didn't care enough to even try to mask it.

"Sago?" Katashi's voice traveled down the line. "Are you ok? You sound like shit." A wry smile twisted my lips as I took in that piece of information. Yeah, I probably did sound like shit.

"I'm ok, not the best and not the worst." I traced patterns on the blanket underneath me. "Where are you?"

"At home; I was going to see if you wanted to head out to Serenia's bar."

"I wouldn't mind that; I got something I need to get off my chest."

"You know I'm always ready to listen."

"Thanks, I'll meet you there in a few."

X-X-X-X-X

"Masago, are you alright? You look like crap!" Serenia came out from behind the bar, concern etched on her face. "Katashi said you sounded a little off."

"I'm fine," I assured her. "Where's Katashi?"

"In the corner; he bought you a drink, and I think you should take it.You need it." Serenia ushered meover to where the colorful guy was sitting.

"SQUAWK! Bring me two piña coladas! I gotta have one for each hand!" Captain Morgan cawed, startling me.

"Shut it, Morgan!" Serenia hissed, giving him a good glare as she sat me down next to my fellow gang member. "If you two need anything, just give a holler." With that she walked away, leaving me slumped across from Katashi.

"What's wrong?" The alcoholic beverage was pushed closer to me and a heavy hand patted my shoulder. Staring at the amber liquid I tried to find the words to verbalize what I was feeling.

"My life is so screwed up." I swirled the drink around as I spat out that understatement. "He was just too good to be true. I knew it but…you still hope…" Katashi sat there, quietly waiting for me to get out the rest. That's what's so wonderful about him, he always gives you time and space. Heaving a long sigh, I tried to find a good place to start.

"You know that I have these special powers, right?" I didn't wait for him to respond, but plowed on heedlessly. "I met this guy a few days ago…I wanted to see what he was thinking…he had a barrier…I pushed it too hard and I collapsed." How can you explain a mental defense? It's something unlike anything else; it reflects the person's inner strength. "Well, I went to get some space after that, and I met this old guy who told me about my grandpa and grandma." I broke off and looked away,trying to explain what had been told to me.

"Your grandparents, were they like you?" Katashi asked cautiously. Silently, I thanked him for easing the way into the harder part of the conversation.

"My grandmother was a medium, she was used to channel other's powers; my grandfather had nothing." Swallowing hard, I traced patterns on the table. "He said that there was a boy, Tetsuo, who had very strong powers; he said that Tetsuo killed many people with these powers."

"You're afraid that you'll do the same?" Katashi always knew what to say, what to ask. Tears welled up in my eyes and I blinked furiously to keep them down.

"Yes." The whisper was torn from me. "I'm terrified. What if my control snaps? What if I unleash armageddon, you know I have the power. You know what happens when I'm upset. And she says that I have to help Akira, another one who's like me, but he hasn't received his powers yet. She thinks that I'll be able to help him! I can't even keep mine under my direction all the time!"

"Hey." Katashi reached out and patted me on the shoulder. "It's going to be ok."

"How do you know?" I hated the despairing note in my voice; I was no damsel in distress, but that's how I sounded. "What if I do something wrong and everyone dies?"

"Everyone makes mistakes and does things the wrong way; you are no different," Katashi assured me. "I have complete confidence in your control; you are always on top of everything and know exactly what is going on. When you are upset, yes you tend to be a little destructive, like that one time, but besides that you're very safe. I know you are powerful, but I don't think that you have the power to bring about the world's demise; maybe a few city blocks, but not the entire earth."

"But what am I to do about Akira?" I moaned, burying my face in my arms.

"Who is he?"

"A guy I know who is supposed to wield ultimate power."

"Well, if you don't want to help him you don't have to. It's up to you, your choice. No one can make you do anything, you always have the option to say no." Katashi pushed the glass of alcohol closer to me. "Have a drink, it will calm your nerves."

"I'm fine." I waved the drink away.

"Drink it or I'll force it down your throat." Katashi gave me a warning look. "I know what's best in this situation."

"I don't want to get smashed," I muttered, picking up the glass and taking a sip. The drink burned a path down my throat and I closed my eyes as it settled in my stomach, warming my insides. Another taste and I began to relax a little, allowing my taut muscles a reprieve. Katashi downed his cup as I ran my finger around the rim of my glass, unwilling to drink the entire thing.

"Do you think I really have a choice?" I looked up at him and he gave me a gentle smile.

"Of course, everyone has a choice."

"But what if our futures aren't up to us? What if everything is already planned? We aren't in charge of what we do?" I swallowed hard as I revealed my deepest fear. "Bullshit," Katashi said cheerfully. "Utter and complete tripe. You can't tell me that everything you see for the future _always_ happens."

"It does!" I argued. "Everything!"

"It's always the same? There are no variations?" Katashi raised his eyebrows and I paused. _Kai_.

"Yes, there have been variations." I was struck dumb.

"There, you see? We are as much in charge of our destinies as anyone else; there are some things we can't avoid, like death, but besides that, we are in charge of what we do and how. Only a fool blames fate, and a weak one at that." Katashi dismissed my darkest horror with only a few words. "Now, drink up!"

X-X-X-X-X

"Whoo!" I screeched, punching the air with one fist. I was feeling deliciously light and airy, like I was floating. Grinning broadly, I did a quick little dance step that required a lot of butt shaking. Music was pounding and I was utterly lost in it. The amount of drinksin my system was unknown to me and I really could care less, only the beat mattered. All around me people were dancing as well.

The bass pumped to the same pace as my heart and I twisted and snapped my body to it. I had danced with almost everyone in clubmale or female; it didn't matter, it was all the same. My long heavy hair was free, falling everywhere and sticking to my sweat-soakedskin. The person who was dancing with me now slipped their hands down to my hips and I did an obliging wiggle. The words to the song burst from my parched lips and I longed for something to drink to drown my thirst.

As if in answer to my thought, a bottle was passed to me. Not bothering to check the label, I tipped it up and drained what was left in it. The sweet substance slipped down my throat like the elixir of life, giving me more energy. All my senses seemed to heighten, from the brightness of the lights to the taste of the air. Giggling, I pressed closer to my partner. It felt so good to just get lost in the sensations of skin and touch.

Rough, unrelenting fingers grasped my shoulders and whipped me around to face the owner of them. My eyes refused to focus in on the features of their face, but I swore they were trying to say something. Shaking my head I reached up and placed my fingers over what I assumed was their mouth. This was no time for talk, this was time for fun and letting loose. Reaching up, I tried to pry their hands off me, but in the process dropped the bottle I had been clutching.

Suddenly everything tilted and swam. Colors were crowding in on me as sound seemed to fade away; I could still feel the vibrations but it was like someone had muted the music. Reaching out, I tried to grasp onto something solid to steady myself, but nothing was there. Whatever I tried to touch I went right through, as if it was all an illusion. Squinting, I lunged for one of the figures in my line of vision, only to stumble and fall.

(Akira)

Masago abruptly jerked forward and I barely caught her. She was quite a sight to behold, her beautiful black eyes glazed from alcohol and drugs. As she swayed back and forth in my arms, her full black hair stuck her pale skin and tangled around me.Scowling at the guy who had been dancing with her -if you could call it dancing, it was more like foreplay- I hauled her out of the club. She was barefoot and her worn clothes added to the effect of her looking like she had just been ravished.

"S'going on?" she slurred, more to herself than to me, and a fresh wave of anger swept over me and I compressed my lips together. It was a damn good thing that Kiyoko had sent me to the club to see what was going on; a few minutes later and Masago would have been in a shit load of trouble.

"I'll tell you what going on!" I snarled, scooping her up, bridal style. She hung in my arms like a broken doll, her unfocused eyes randomly moving around. "You got hammered and then someone drugged you!" Her face turned toward mine and she reached out, but since her perception was skewered she missed me by a mile.

I was not in a charitable mood; Kiyoko had refused to tell me what she had told Masago and Masago hadn't come back to the apartment. Now the lush was too drunk and drugged to be able to comprehend anything. Making my way through the empty streets, I concentrated on keeping her in my arms and getting to my apartment, neither of which was very easy because Masago would start jerking around or squirm without warning and when I focused fully on her I easily missed turns.

Finally I got us to my apartment and ushered her into the bathroom. With a little difficulty I leaned her up against the wall and ran a warm bath. Next to me she muttered things under her breath and traced patterns in the air with her fingers. As I was lifting her to set her in the tub (clothes and all) she threw up, covering both of us in her stomach's contents.

"Damn it!" I hollered at her just before she burst into tears. Why she was crying I had no idea, but it must have had to do with either barfing or my angry voice. Forcing myself to relax, I pulled her into a hug and stroked her back in an effort to placate her. The stench of vomit was terrible and I gagged a few times, but I managed to ignore it for the most part, until I got her settled down and in the tub. Keeping an eye on her, I stripped my shirt and pants off. Hurriedly I grabbed Masago as she lurched forward.

"Here goes." I carefully peeled off the girl's outer layer and washed her thoroughly in her underclothes. When I was satisfied, I pulled the plug and lifted her out of the tub and wrapped her up in a towel. She didn't respond to anything I did, but that didn't mean she was quiet or motionless. Through whatever I did she twitched and murmured things under her breath; it made me wonder what the hell they had given her. Setting her on the floor, I toweled her hair so it wasn't sopping wet, and then pulled one of my t-shirts on her over the towel.

"I have to save him," Masago whispered hoarsely. "If he dies, so does the future of the human race." Sighing, I pulled off the towel and took offher underwear, not looking at anything under the t-shirt. Picking her up again, I was appalled at how light she was; it was very unhealthy. Pushing that aside, I tucked her into my bed and rummaged around in my closet for a pair of pants. After struggling into them I sat down in a chair next to her. I was going to have to watch her all night to make sure she was ok and didn't puke and inhale it. Yippee.

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	10. Invitation to the Gang

Sorry for the extremely long pause between stories. I had the chapter written and was going to send it in to my beta when I forgot to and then it faded away...you people have to remind me! So this is the last chapter where I will respond to reviews in them!

Double-Z- I'm so glad that you liked the chapter and I'm trying to get the rest to be just as good.

Tallulah- THANK YOU! Hee hee...you are the best!

Chapter 9

(Masago)

The overwhelming need to blow chunks was what I woke up to, and I barely managed to keep down the contents of my stomach. Sitting there, I fought the disorientation that plagued me; it was like I had the flu. Everything was slightly distorted; I felt horribly woozy and nauseated. The bile was worming its way up my throat and I had to concentrate to fight it down as I ached all over.Panting, I closed my eyes as I fought to regain normality. I shifter to relieve pressure, I felt the world spin around me.Drawing in a quick breath my stomach rolled and I almost vomited.Behind my eyes a headache was beginning to pound, adding to my agony.

Peeling my eyes open, I slowly took in my surroundings, and was unable to fight down rising hysteria. _I wasn't in my apartment._ Slowly I lowered my head until I could see what I was wearing, silently praying that it would bemine andin one piece. Part of my wish was granted. The t-shirt I wore wasn't mine, but it was in one piece; across the front in big bold letters was the name of a band thatI didn't know.

"Where am I?" I whispered tearfully. I had been drugged, that much was obvious, but had anything else happened? I didn't think so, but I couldn't be sure. The last thing I remembered was music and people, lots of people.

"Good morning," a rough masculine voice greeted me. I whipped my head to seewhere it had come from and instantly knew I had made a mistake. Desperately,I ripped the covers off and leapt out of bed, but hit the ground and spewed sludge all over the floor. Moaning, I tried to get away from the puke that was seeping into the big t-shirt and pooling around my legs.

"Hell." I was lifted up and carried across into what turned out to be the bathroom. "What'd they give you?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, but that didn't stop me from shrugging. Carefully I was set down and I heard someone turn on a faucet, wearily I closed my eyes.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked hoarsely.

"All I know, Masago, is that you got drugged and I was the only thing that stopped you from being raped." The guy's voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who he was. "Your brother is probably worried sick about you."

Opening my eyes ever so slightly, I gazed at the guy who had saved me andwas nowpreparing a bath for me. He had shaggy black hair, a long, lean look to him and slightly tanned skin.

"Akira?" I used his given name instead of his last. It rolled off my tongue thoughtlessly and I instantly regretted it. What if he thought me to forward?"How did you know I was there?" He turned to look at me, and his calm black eyes searched mine.For a moment I couldn't breathe.

"Kiyo told me, she said you were in trouble." He swept me up and settled me into the tub. The water was just the right temperature and the warmth sank into my bones, turning me into putty. Sighing softly, I sank lower into the water; it was heavenly. "She told me where you were, so I went and got you."

Kiyo, Kiyo, Kiyo. I scowled at the water. I didn't want to think about her and her thoughts about me being Akira's "savior." Flicking the water absently, I watched it make ripples. Suddenly even that slight movement became too much and I let my hand sink under the water as my body turned leaden. The water smoothed out, nothing disturbed it, but underneath it, shapes began to move. Randomly they flowed and slid around until they all came into focus, slowly pulling me toward them, into their world.

_Hands slid over my body. Over my hips, up to my arms and out until they clasped my hands in their own. Calluses rasped against my palms as lips brushed over my ear. I felt at peace even though my gut told me something bad was about to happen. The world around me was blurred and unseen to me._

"_Hey Sago, you remember Kiriya right?" I was in another place, lounging against a wall, watching Yuki speak to me. "Well he's going to join - "_

"_Let's dance, asshole!" Akira's voice was harsh with anger and I saw him, his black hair blowing away from his face as he aimed—_

"_They're coming, Sago," Katashi told me, his face etched with worry._

"_GET DOWN!" _

_Flames jumped around me and licked at my flesh as I screamed for –_

"_Don't leave me!" I was screaming. Sobbing, terrified for someone, someone dear to me._

"_Masago!" Raiden bellowed, reaching out for me._

"_Masago!" I was twirled around by Yuki._

"_Masago!" Takeo hugged me._

"Masago!" Kiriya was shaking me violently.

"Huh?" I managed to make eye contact with him while my body screamed for rest. I was so tired. Visions always drained me. Fatigue blurred Kiriya's face as I hung between his hands that were grasping my upper arms.

"What happened? You were completely gone therea second ago!" Another sharp shake, but I was too far gone. Darkness called and I succumbed.

(Akira)

"Masago!" I shook her roughly, but the only response I got was her head lolling to her other shoulder. Growling low in my throat, I quickly and impersonally finished washing herand then hauled her limp body out of the tub. Pulling my shirt off of her, I dried her off and struggled to get her into another shirt. Though I tried hard to avoid looking at her while she was unclothed, it was rather difficult. She did have a nice body. Mentally smacking myself, I settled her back into my bed.

"Kiriya!" Someone was pounding on my door and yelling. Turning away from my fragile charge, I hurried over to the door and opened it. There stood Yuki; his chest was heaving and he was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

"You're looking for your sister, right?" I asked, stepping back to allow him entrance. "I found her at a club last night; I didn't have the chance to contact you."

"Thanks." Yuki rushed past me to where Masago was unconscious on the bed. He dropped down next to her and brushed the soaked strands of hair plastered to her face away. Gently he picked up one her hands in his and with his other reached out and touched her cheek.

"Sago, Sago, it's time to get up now," he whispered.

"She went into some sort of trance and then collapsed," I quietly informed him as I crouched down next to the bed. "I tried to wake her up, but she's out cold."

Ignoring me, Yuki continued to softly call to his sister. He let go of her hand and used his fingertips to massage her temples. I didn't understand how this was supposed to wake her up, if anything I thought it would put her even deeper into sleep.

"MASAGO!" hebellowed abruptly right in her face as he clapped his hands together with a resounding sound. Not surprisingly,Masago's eyes cracked open to wearily look around.

"Wha?" she slurred.

"Are you ok?" Yuki asked. "Do you feel up to riding?"

"Had…a…vision…" she mumbled almost incoherently. "…'Kira…"

"Sago," Yuki sighed in frustration. "Can you ride?" She lay there for a few seconds thinking about it.

"No…sleep…" She then slipped away from us into the waters of sleep.

"Do you mind if I stay here?" Yuki looked at me and I shrugged.

"Makes no never-mind to me," I told him as I straightened up.

"I was talking to Akeno and he says you're a real good biker," Yuki beganas he pulled a blanket over Masago.

"I'm decent. I can ride just as well as the next guy." I retreated to an old couch across the room.

"No need to be humble," Yuki said with a chuckle. "But as I was saying, he said you were a good biker and we're short one." There was a pause. "If you ever want to join, the offer is open to you. If you were to join, it would be nice if you could kind of keep an eye on Sago, she's a little reckless and she needs a partner so Katashi can get back to training Gosan."

"So you want me to join so I can baby-sit your sister?" I demanded incredulously.

"She's been acting strange lately," Yuki muttered. He looked to the side for a second as he thought. "Her whole life – all that we've known her – she has what she thinks are visions of the future. She believes she can read other people's minds, and sometimes it seems like it, but… it's hard to say. She'sbeen weird and vulnerable for the past couple of weeks and I'm worried for her. She won't let me help her and she would hate having anyone tail her."

"Then why do you want me to?" I watched the older teen cautiously. I didn't want to get in the middle of some family fight, and I knew from experience that they could get real nasty.

"If you join, you'll have to be trained, and she's the one of the best, she's the one who helps train the newbies." Yuki explained. "You don't have to answer right away, just think on it."

Sinking further back into the couch, I began to try and sort out my thoughts. There was something about Masago that made me want to stay near her, to protect her; though she seemed like she was trouble at the same time. She had the same kind of abilities as my family. I knew she was fun to be around and there was this little voice in my head screaming for me to just say yes. But if I was in the gang, there was no guarantee that I would come home every night. I would have to hurt people. Rely on predatory skills and go with what I hated. Could I do that?

Annoyed, I glanced at Masago. She had moved around some during our discussion and was now sprawled across my bed. Within me, something clenched. She had survived most her life in the style I was considering. She had risked herself many times.Would I be able to stand back and let her to continue doing that once I began to see what she did?

How would I feel if I said no? Would I ever see her again? If I said yes I would see her 'most every day. If I said no, she'd never know, but what she had spoken to Kiyo about had alienated her. If I went with this, I might be able to find out what that had been about. On the other hand, she might come to resent me for encroaching upon her territory.

"I have to tell the others that I found her." Yuki broke into my thoughts. "I'll be back." He meandered out the door and I moved over to where my torment was lying. She twisted in her sleep, her brow furrowing. Reaching out I lightly touched the grooves in her forehead, and she relaxed, murmuring something. Watching her, I knew what my decision would be. All I had to do was tell him.

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